Psychologist with 20+ years of experience, Independent Educational Evaluator and Psychological Assessments

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By Danny Crum

Jan. 10, 2013
12:01 a.m.

Most school districts that I know have bullying prevention programs that are sincerely developed with the best of intentions but as my grandmother used to say;

"the road to hell is paved with good intentions."Educationnews.org reported "...teenagers with an autism spectrum disorder are up to four times more likely to be bullied at school than their peers from the general population..." The articles goes on to report that "previous studies have found that children who are bullied are at higher risk of depression and have higher incidences of anxiety and loneliness. These children also do much worse academically than those who are not being picked on."
Children with autism may be an easy target because of their difficulties with social interaction (e.g., picking up social cues, communicating, understanding their peers' behaviors). Further, if statistics are accurate and one out of every 88 children present with some form of autism and children with autism are targeted by bullies four times more than their peers, then stopping bullying is even more important. We need to break the cycle of thought, words, and actions we see in those bullies.
However, schools aren't the only ones who should have anti-bullying programs. Research showed 15 percent of parents believe their own children are bullies themselves. But for fear of sounding like a broken record, "it" starts at home and if it's not your home, confront the parents who need to speak to their children about no longer acting like bullies.
You are the first circle of support for your children. Beyond that, circles of support can be created anywhere and everywhere. Essentially, educate those around your child and that includes the adults as well as the peers. These "support groups" can provide support and help through understanding and genuine respect. Get into each other's homes, with permission of course, and get into your child's schools and advocate for such support groups.

PARTING THOGUHT:

Focus on the positive and you'll get the positive, focus on the negative and that's all you'll ever see.

Do good and you'll reap good, do nothing and that's exxactly what you'll receive.